Poland spent PLN 757.2 billion on social protection benefits in 2023, 18.6% more than a year earlier, according to Statistics Poland. Old-age benefits were by far the largest item, followed by healthcare. Altogether, social protection benefits were equivalent to 22.5% of Polish GDP.
The figures were compiled using the European System of Integrated Social Protection Statistics (ESSPROS), which makes it possible to compare the structure of social spending across European countries.
Old age accounts for almost half of spending
Benefits connected with old age reached PLN 350.9 billion, or 46.3% of the total. Healthcare was second at PLN 204.8 billion and 27%. Family and children benefits accounted for PLN 103.4 billion, while survivor benefits reached PLN 47.7 billion and disability-related support PLN 33 billion.
Social protection benefits by function in Poland
PLN billion, 2023
Old age — 350.9
Healthcare — 204.8
Family and children — 103.4
Survivors — 47.7
Disability — 33.0
Source: Poland Insight based on Statistics Poland.
Much smaller amounts went to social exclusion, unemployment and housing. This distribution reflects the weight of pensions and health services in Poland’s welfare system and the growing fiscal importance of an ageing population.
More than 70% was paid in cash
Cash benefits totalled PLN 540.6 billion, compared with PLN 216.6 billion in benefits in kind. Cash therefore represented 71.4% of all social protection spending.
The balance differs sharply between functions. In old-age support, almost all spending was monetary: PLN 349.1 billion in cash versus PLN 1.8 billion in kind. Healthcare shows the reverse pattern. Of PLN 204.8 billion spent on health-related social protection, PLN 172 billion was delivered in kind and PLN 32.8 billion in cash.
Income testing plays a relatively small role
GUS data show that 98.5% of expenditure concerned benefits granted independently of beneficiaries’ income. Only a small part of the Polish system was means-tested.
Structure of social protection benefits: Poland vs EU
Share of total expenditure, %
| Type | Poland | EU |
|---|---|---|
| Cash, not means-tested | 70.1% | 58.8% |
| Cash, means-tested | 1.3% | 6.0% |
| In kind, not means-tested | 28.4% | 30.3% |
| In kind, means-tested | 0.2% | 4.9% |
Source: Statistics Poland and Eurostat.
The difference with the EU average is particularly visible in means-tested benefits. In Poland, means-tested cash benefits accounted for 1.3% of expenditure and means-tested benefits in kind for just 0.2%. Across the EU, the corresponding shares were 6% and 4.9%.
Social protection reached 22.5% of GDP
Poland’s social protection benefits were equivalent to 22.5% of GDP in 2023, up from 20.6% a year earlier. This placed Poland close to Luxembourg, also at 22.5%, and Slovenia at 23.1% in the comparative data cited by GUS.
The highest ratio among the countries in the comparison was recorded in France at 33.8%, while Turkey had the lowest at 10%. The nominal amount alone does not measure how generous support is for an individual household, but ESSPROS gives a consistent framework for comparing the scale and structure of social protection.
For Poland, the longer-term issue is demographic. As the population ages, pensions, healthcare and long-term care will account for an increasingly important part of public-finance planning. The 2023 figures show how large that base already is.
Source: Statistics Poland (GUS), “Social protection benefits in 2023”.
